AfroHerbalism. A community response to culturally appropriate health promotion and disease prevention.

Founding Story: Share a story about a key experience or spark that helps the network understand why this project got started or a story about how you became inspired about the potential for this project to succeed.

A child born with cerebral hemorrhage, severe meconium aspiration, persistent pulmonary hypertension, and kidney failure defied the odds of his prognosis using natural means of health promotion and disease prevention. The severity of a traumatic birth should have rendered him asthmatic and plagued with developmental delays. Now 6 years old, the child continues to thrive without Rx medication or diagnoses. Underrepresentation of blacks in herbalism and healing arts is affirmed, as is the lack of trust in the methods because blacks are not seen using, teaching or practicing – nor are they seen affirming the benefits of its use. In my community, children and families do not realize that health can be managed and/or improved via natural means; that evidence based practice abounds in these arenas; or that service providers who look like them are available. Even more, philanthropists and benevolent collaborators are not aware of the magnitude of health injustice, the demand and interest for alternatives, or of the population of committed and skillful black service providers willing to serve the community - The Afro Herbalists.
Google herbalism. We are not present in conferences, summits, meetings, classes, fairs, discussions, media – yet we exist. The project seeks inspire use and trust, document efficacy and the practical application of herbalism. It also seeks to build a relatable culture of health and wellbeing in underserved African American communities.

Which categories describe you? (the answer will not be public)

Website

www.eiw-dt.com
This is the natural healing practice that continuously seeks benevolent supporters of community outreach initiatives. We do not have websites for individual outreach projects.

Location: Where is your organization headquartered? [State]

Michigan

Location: Where is your organization headquartered? [City]

Detroit

Location: Where is your project primarily creating impact? [State]

Michigan

Location: Where is your project primarily creating impact? [City]

Detroit

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

Healthcare is complex, inconvenient and inaccessible in underserved neighborhoods due to the prevalence of income inequity, social exclusion and no sense of efficacy. Families are not in "right relationship" with providers who create/preserve a culture of health or wellbeing. Moreover, the children severely lack cultural identity, sense of belonging, personal resilience, belief that they can affect positive change in their lives or own that process, they lack hope. They are deeply impacted by adverse childhood experiences. Their identity is claimed from mass and social media - their worth displaced. Some are underfed. Others overfed and undernourished, misdiagnosed and overmedicated. They are holistically ill. Some families have given up on medicine and doctors while others are overly dependent. Afro-herbalism is a PANOPTIC community-led response for reawakening and resilience.

Herb gardening at the transformation station
http://grow48204.weebly.com

AfroHerbalism is a culturally competent and innovative solution to health inequity in African American communities. Using education, very hands-on activities and employing community resources instills a sense of ownership and control over their health - knowing where to go and what to use redefines accessibility. Participants acquire a new skillset, become teachers and learn to exert their own influence over their health and that of others. In this way, each participant takes responsibility for improved health outcomes. AfroHerbalism inspires and esteems identity by teaching herbalism in a relevant historical context. We believe that this helps to build a strong sense of self. Learning new skills that can be shared with others, family and/or fellow youth, provides a sense of purpose and responsibility.

We also find AfroHerbalism timely and innovative as we enter the International Decade for People of African Descent. One of the many aims for the United Nations General Assembly resolution 68/237 is to promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of [societies], practices and disciplines. We believe AfroHerbalism successfully achieves this end.

We found that community-based educational intervention is an effective way to inspire health-related behavioral change. Promising aspects from engaging in this program are its positive and sustainable influence in the following areas:

Personal Resilience/Self-concept

Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs

General substance use

Health-risk behaviors

Physical Health Conditions and Symptoms

Parenting Behaviors

Family-child Relationship

Healthy Relationships

School engagement (Potentially)

School climate (Potentially)

Cannabis (non-medical) use and disorders (Potentially)

Social competence

Self-regulation

Is your model focused on any of the following traditionally underserved communities?

Communities of color

Low-income communities

Does your model work within any of the following sectors?

Childcare

Child and Family Services

Community Development and Empowerment

Criminal Justice

Education

Mental Health

Year Founded

2009

Project Stage

Idea (poised to launch)

Example: Walk the network through a specific example of what happens when a person or group engages with your solution.

We have piloted two approaches with this solution: The Urban Herbalists Internship (School-Based) and the Seasonal Herb Series (Community Based). Where appropriate, we focus on herbal solutions to health concerns of the participants. Otherwise, we have used a first-aid, common health conditions approach within an education and activity based model. At the end of each model, participants have developed their own herbal first aid kits.
A participant is engaged in an ongoing learning process: nature-based walks, tactile herbal instruction (see, taste, chew, feel) about specific herb qualities and use, medicine making and trial, and show and tell - which is an opportunity to tell friends and family about what they have learned and applied

Impact: What was the impact of your work last year? Please also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.

100% of participants reported increased knowledge, and improved attitudes and beliefs about herbalism as a viable adjunct to conventional medicine. Participants reported that they were more apt to adhere/comply using herbal remedies. Participants self-reported success and improvements during community-led meetings, where things gone wrong/things gone right were captured as part of the development process. Some adopted herbal practices that reduced the need for asthma inhalers and topical eczema applications. We are in the process of formalizing a logic model and a plan for community-defined participatory research, which we believe will improve our ability to capture the impact of the program as well as how to ensure participants retain and apply skills post education. We are excited about the outcomes we project as positive future impact (see promising aspects listed above).

Organization Type

for-profit

Annual Budget

We hold great hope for an endowment that funds a new public health approach in perpetuity; though we have envisioned a social enterprise profit generator model. This model engages in cash based concierge care and fee-for-service activities, making a profit and then transferring profit to fund a free herbal clinic and community-based programming. This past year, we started an in-house apothecary, that retails handmade herbal products/remedies.

Unique Value Proposition: How else is this problem being addressed? Are there other organizations working in the same field, and how does your project differ from these other approaches?

AfroHerbalism is singularly innovative. It provides direct service in ways that traditional and conventional healthcare cannot. It effectively addresses affordability, accessibility and availability in a way that is culturally relevant. It enables youth and their families to reclaim ownership of their social and physical health and their cultural identity. It has potential to reach those who may have un­detected risk factors. We are present, familiar & de-institutionalized within the community. Others promote health via food/farming/gardening - this is food security not health & healing.

Reflect on the Field and its Future: Stepping outside of your project, what do you see as the most important or promising shifts that can advance children’s wellbeing?

Computer modeling as a methodology has emerged as a fresh approach to evaluating solutions for complex social issues (MSU). Children's wellbeing and public health may and/or should benefit from such examination. Ultimately, those solutions that avert the impact of adverse childhood experiences (CDC-Kaiser Study) and embed the Center for Social Policy's Protective Factors in its approach to better health outcomes exist apart from convention and should absolutely be considered thought leaders. Indeed, smaller organizations, not institutions lead in the propensity for social influence

Source: How did you hear about the Children’s Wellbeing Challenge? (the answer will not be public)

Article in the news

Program Design Clarity

This is a culturally relevant, 12-week, community/school-based, hands-on and instructional program for school-aged children and their parents. It is designed to increase awareness and improve health-related behaviors. Sessions are manualized according to a syllabus and occur for 1-3 hours on a weekly basis for 12 consecutive weeks. Session activities include assigning/reviewing homework, presentation of session content, supervised group play/interactions, discussion of parent roles and tracking progress of applied skills. A qualified herbalist/naturopath is intended to deliver services.

Community Leadership

Our community led skill-shares are what help to define and preserve a strong shared vision for this work. Shared stories of improved health, self-sufficiency and less reliance on medicine create a sense of personal and collective efficacy. Social connectedness and the cohesion of the community have been shown to have a direct relationship to good health. This! encourages more civic participation in changing conditions that affect group goals.

Age of Children Impacted

6 - 12

12+

Spread Strategies

Public Awareness and spread is our focus, extending beyond increasing numbers to include spreading ideas, beliefs, values, and principles that support this effort being brought fully to scale. Sustainability is a key focus that ensures this idea retains meaning over time; building support of benevolent givers and collaborators. Continued community leadership that creates the needed shift in reform ownership at the ground level is also a focus.

Reflect on how your work helps children to thrive. How are you cultivating children’s sense of self, belonging, and purpose through your model?

We adopt an each one-teach one ideology in our work. Personal resilience and self-concept are key elements of our program. We establish ownership and "an identity" (afro) within applied self-care (herbalism). I can take care of myself and teach others resonates loudly in this model. Our work is informed by the CDC-Kaiser study on early childhood experiences and the impact on lifelong health.

Leadership Story

Personal health experiences and exit from conventional care inspired a career transition from automotive new business development to naturopathic healthcare in private practice. Ongoing efforts in community outreach and education led to an increasing understanding of health inequity and disparate health outcomes in African-American communities. Ultimately, the death of Grace Lee Boggs, an iconic activist here in Detroit, catapulted new directions in my evolution as a social change agent. Her works and legacy provide ongoing insight and inspiration from a historical and broader social context.

Organization's Twitter Handle

@EIWDT

Organization’s Facebook Page (URL)

EIWDT

Leader's LinkedIn Profile (URL)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eiwdt

Evaluation results

7 evaluations so far

1. Relevance: Does this project seem to help children (ages 0 to 12 years) develop a strong sense of self, belonging, and purpose?

5 - Yes, this is great! The project lays out a strong, compelling case for how its model nurtures children’s wellbeing. - 14.3%

4 - It seems like a good fit, and the model talks explicitly about children’s wellbeing. - 42.9%

3 - I think so. The project seems related to children’s wellbeing, but the logic is vague. - 28.6%

2 - Not sure. The project doesn’t have much to do with wellbeing, or it doesn’t give enough information. - 14.3%

4 - Pretty good potential. This project demonstrates significant positive impact so far, and it could scale regionally or nationally one day and fundamentally change how a system operates (e.g. childcare, healthcare, education). - 28.6%

3 - Budding potential. This project is creating local impact, but it would take a few adjustments before it could scale. - 28.6%

2 - Some potential. This project demonstrates some initial positive impact, but it would require major changes before it could scale. - 42.9%

1 - Limited potential. This project has great intentions, but it looks like it does not include key drivers of a shift towards children’s wellbeing. - 0%

4. Overall, how do you feel about this idea?

5 - This idea rocked my world. It’s awesome! - 14.3%

4 - This idea seems really exciting. With a little more polishing, it’d be among my favorites. - 14.3%

3 - I think the idea is great, but it needs some work before it moves onto the next round. - 42.9%

5. Offer some feedback. Where should this participant spend some time revising?

DEFINING THE PROBLEM. Make sure to articulate the root causes or main barriers of the social issue your project addresses. (Founding Story, Problem, Solution). - 40%

CLARITY OF MODEL. Make sure to mention (a.) the beneficiary, b) the main activities, and c) how those activities drive social impact. Keep it streamlined! - 60%

MARKETPLACE. Make sure to research other players in this space and articulate how this project is different. I didn’t get a complete sense of how this project compares to others. - 60%

IMPACT POTENTIAL. Make sure to use specific numbers to describe what your project has achieved so far! And consider how you might scale the model or its insights, through partnerships, trainings, or franchising. - 100%

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We live in a system that has taught us to let go of our roots that tie us to the world around us. In communities of color our historic values tie us to the earth, but we've strayed from the healing that should be accessible, that should be a practice of how we live our lives. With everything going on I feel hope in a program like this that heals as it educates and transforms both the bodies and spirits of those that come to you.

Here where I am, poverty has left families consuming poisons. Filling their bodies with preservatives, fats, GMOs, pesticides, and unnatural food choices. There is a reason diabetes, heart disease, and asthma are destroying so many in our communities, so thank you for the effort to shed light on a way of life that can potentially push back on the destruction so much commercialism and capitalism has caused for our families.

Thank you for your remarks. We share a very similar sentiment. Disconnected - in a word - is how I describe what has happened in communities of color. Most are inter-generationally disconnected and heavily system dependent. This program inherently seeks to re-connect them while promoting a new level of self-sufficiency.

This idea seems very promising. I love the concept of helping children learn how to grow herbs for healing so that remedies will become more accessible rather than relying upon medicines which are increasingly more expensive and may have detrimental side effects. I also love that it involves helping children learn about nature and connect with other youth their age, while providing them with an opportunity to connect with their rich cultural heritage and discover the gifts of their ancestors. Personally, I wish this kind of program was available for my own family, especially my young daughter, so that she could grow up with a strong knowledge of natural remedies and not feel a necessity to turn to artificially manufactured medicines. I can both sense, and empathize with your frustration for how the medical system and drug companies have made us dependent and disconnected from natural remedies. As this project gains momentum, it also seems important that families be encouraged to explore how our culture of comfort and actions as a community over time contributed to the societal-level abandonment of natural remedies. In an effort to more accurately understand your project, would you please clarify the following?1. What barriers need to be reduced in order for individuals to use herbal medicine?2. How specifically, does this project heal across multiple generations?3. What are some specific ways you feel this project will help children connect with their community?4. What has been the mental and or emotional impact of this project for children so far?

Thanks, hope this helps.1. Messaging, Access and Funding. A major socio-cultural barrier to the use of herbal medicine is the misperception of herbalism and chronic disease (messaging/narrative). In communities of color, mine with certainty, herbs are now synonymous with medical marijuana. I have attempted to influence messaging by pairing information regarding herbalism with substance use prevention initiatives - yet, there has been no real interest from the behavioral health community to convey herbalism's viability. With regard to chronic disease and illness, there prevails an overwhelming surrender to "heredity" disease diagnoses vs. a clear understanding that the role of epigenetics plays on health and healing. The mindset that we inherit disease is one that needs to be shifted. A new story/narrative needs to be told around both herbalism (natural health) and chronic disease prevention and management. Effective media and messaging is achievable, yet a costly undertaking. A second barrier is access - specifically financial resources and transportation. In general, residents are unable to travel to places where herbs are available or sold - these places are few and far between. Where locations are accessible via public transportation - an ability to pay becomes an issue; having to choose between food or transportation with limited financial resources. Ultimately, the same social determinants that are believe to impede better health outcomes with conventional care apply here. The difference is the solution. The conventional solution creates more dependency on a system vs. empowering those in need with a viable, low to no-cost solution that holds its own influence on their treatment and health outcomes. Finally, funding that enables service providers to meet the demand for education, instruction, consultation and technical assistance is an ongoing challenge.

2. The project creates an "inter-generational shift in thinking and in behavior". The enthusiasm displayed by the children has been infectious in the school-based and community-based settings. The youth are learning new ways to care for their bodies and new ways to respond, naturally, to acute conditions. This information is shared within the family setting, piquing the interest of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, teachers and administrators. The youth are inspiring sustainable lifestyle changes at home, from this interaction and exposure to herbalism. As this continued exposure creates new habits for the children, it is likely that they will grow into these habits and continue to pass them on to others as they grow older. When a student causes a family member to use herbs for "sugar-handling" conditions, after months of Rx medication non-compliance, the interest in the family proliferates in a most non-traditional way. The students become teachers and co-creators of new habits for older and younger generations.3. This project exposes children to the diversity of people within the community by welcoming and including people of all ages and backgrounds, it takes children into the community to learn via herb/nature walks, it makes use of resources in the community and creates a culture of community as a new generation herbalists (of color). This project makes use of public spaces which helps the children learn about the resources available within their own environment, and it teaches them to respect and care for these public spaces. It also enables them to explore the relationship between health, community and culture. This project recognizes that all children belong to a variety of overlapping groups: religious, family, ethnicity and heritage, and country of origin. The project celebrates this complex nature of belonging by helping the children to integrate these various perspectives around a common cause/purpose and not feel they have to play one against the other. This projects adopts an each one teach one ideology where we envision children as teachers and co-creators who learn and share with the next round of participants, and on an ongoing basis.4. Improved relationships and compassion, a sense of connectedness and belonging, an increased interest in learning, increased levels of enthusiasm and vitality. If definitely contributes to improved social interactions and community cohesion - this does something great for the esteem of children. It inspires hope for less reliance on medication. There exists a positive change in attitudes to better health and natural medicine in general. Growing/gardening has helped to instill a sense of responsibility for the caring and protection of the plants and the environment in which they grow. Working as a group generates happiness and hope. Caring for the plant inspires caring for themselves. Working together has also helped to improve their moods vs. the isolation felt from "owning nothing." They own this process of health and healing. They are empowered.